paris, normandy, provence

It'll be tough. Four days for Paris isn't that much (the highlights can be done in two). Driving from Paris to Normandy and looking around for the half remaining day and one full day, makes six or so. Driving to Aix is a mean all-day project, you'll need another full day to get back to Paris; that leaves maybe two or three for Provence. Ugh!

However, in a few weeks I'll be driving from Dunkerque to Bordeaux to Paris and then into Germany. I'll make it in six or seven days, but I've seen all of it and we'll be moving at my friend's speed -- seeing the things he's missed. It can be done, it's just not much fun.

Dear Lisa--Don't be overwhelmed. You will have a great trip but not the perfect trip--no one ever does because there is no such thing. You won't have time to see everything and you wouldn't if you were staying 100 days. You will realize with hindsight that you made mistakes because no one can foresee everything. Relax. The expert posters here will provide excellent advice (but buy Rick's France book if you haven't already!!!). For what it is worth, here is my 2 cents--
Assuming that you are flying "open jaw" (from the US into Nice and home from Paris), you could do this...
Day 1 arrive Nice. Beach and stroll. Day 2 train from Nice to Avignon TGV..pick up a rental car. Base yourself in Isle sur la Sorgue, a lovely Provencal small town. Days 3, 4..from your base, explore Arles, Avignon, the villages of Provence. Day 5, return car to Avignon TGV and train to Paris (2.5 hrs). Day 6 Paris. Day 7, train to Caen, rent a car and base in Bayeux. Days 8, 9 seeing Normandy, espec D Day and Mont St Michel from your base at Bayeux. Day 10 return car at Caen, train back to Paris. Have a great last night in Paris. Day 11 fly home. Now any additional days you could squeeze out could be simply added to any of these 3 destinations (and I would hope you might add at least a couple of days).
Now this will cost more--2 short rentals vs 1 longer one--but it avoids long wearying drives. Money can often buy you time. Play with this and the other suggestions you will get, and feel free to ask follow-up questions. Have a great trip!

It's feasible if you ditch your Normandy car and take the train to Provence. Maybe rent a second car while there. Then fly home from Provence or, if the timing works, take one of the direct TGV trains from Avignon to deGaulle the morning of your return.

Ideally you'd have at least a few more days to do this, otherwise content yourself with just short stays in each place. Can you swing a slightly longer trip? You'd never regret it.

What's really throwing you off is the run to Provence and back -- it's killing the better part of two days no matter how you do it. Think: Boston - New York - Dallas or something --- it just doesn't work.

Make it Paris, Picardie, Normandy, Brittany and it will work fine. Or skip the area on either end of the above to give you more time in the others.

There's a lot more to France than Provence, save it for a trip through the southern tier.

Lisa: Ed makes a good point, as usual. The more closely bunched your destinations are, the more time you spend sightseeing and doing fun stuff. If you are willing to consider altering your original plan, you could easily spend 11 days doing Paris-Normandy-Brittany and perhaps adding a day or two in the Loire. If you would like some suggestions for this revised itinerary I'm sure the posters here will have lots of good ideas.

Thank you all for your very helpful replies. My husband is concerned about it being rainy and cold in late October and that's why he thought the south of France would be a nice change of weather but it doesn't sound like it will make for a relaxing trip. Actually, if I had my way, we'd fly to Amsterdam for a couple of nights, take a train to Bruges stay a couple of nights and rent a car, then drive to Normandy and take a train back to Paris. I realize a trip like that only gives you the "flavor" of a place (and maybe that's overdoing it as much as the south of France idea)but, although this is our first trip to Europe together there are reasons why it could be the only one we're able to take; I'd like to see a bit more than France... No matter what, I think Provence is out. Thanks so much again.

It will be chilly (but not cold) and rainy and overcast most of the time in october, especially in Normandy. Just come with waterproof shoes, changes of socks, and ponchos and you'll be fine. The South has lots of sun, but the Cote d'azure (Nice region) much more so than Provence itself. In generaL, as you move eastward away from the Atlantic, the weather will tend to be somewhat drier and cooler. Cities like Amsterdam close to the coast will be rainy. Lisa, your idea of Amsterdam-Bruges-Normandy-Paris might work, though again you'll have to expect foul weather in Normandy where the activities are mainly outdoors (plenty of indoor stuff to do in the cities). Remember though that picking up a car in one country and dropping it in a different one will hit you with a huge charge.
If you wanted an alternative urban/countryside trip with generally bright and chilly days, you might consider Tuscany, perhaps flying into Milan and out of Rome. I realize, of course, that this is totally different than your original proposal, and may be totally impossible for other reasons, but at least you could get the sort of Appalachian fall weather you were hoping to find in Provence.

Hi Lisa,

If you use Bayeux as a base, I suggest the following hotels and B&B's: Churchill, Mogador, D'Argouges, Le Lion d'Or, Le Petit Matin (B&B) and the Aggarthi (B&B). Also, the Battlebus tours of the landing sites.

I looked at the Battlebus tour site...am I reading it incorrectly or do the tours cost several hundred $$ per person?

Not several hundred, but they're seventy-five euros per head last I heard -- that's about a hundred bucks.

I'm cheap, so are my friends (okay, we're all poor), with a little study and preparation you can do it all yourself.

Lisa, the Battlebus tours are 85 Euros per person for one-day tours. There's only one two-day tour, and the price is 165 Euros per person.

If you want a Private tour of some sort (read the website for that), then it's 475 Euros for an 8-person max day tour.

Our last trip was with my husband's parents; we decided against a rental car (ANOTHER story!) so we jumped in and went with Battlebus for the two-day tour. Three of us are students of history (but of course) and two of us (I'm one) are tightwads. We all really enjoyed the experience! I was comfortable with the money I spent. My husband and I may even take another tour with them. It's possible to do it yourself and drive, but it's ALOT of research to find everything as efficiently as a tour operator can. Next time we'll drive on our own, whether we also take a tour or not.